


FACES

by starfleetjedi



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Casual Sex, F/M, Loss of Virginity, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, fuck buddies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22990336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfleetjedi/pseuds/starfleetjedi
Summary: It had been a great night, until the awkward goodbye when Ben didn’t even look at her as he shook her hand like some ordinary acquaintance instead of a girl he had snogged senseless. Her first real kiss and the world continues to turn like it’s no big deal.orWhat happens when you catch feelings for your fuck buddy?
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	FACES

* * *

**JUNE 6, 2013**

**THURSDAY**

* * *

Rey teeters on her wedges as she and Rose skitter up the crosswalk with their arms linked. The bright orange sign in front of them steadily counts down—11…10…9…8. And under the sign is a man with perfectly coiffed bright red hair and matching stubble. He looks the part of someone who just got off work, in his nice tucked-in white button-up and black slacks. He smiles widely as Rose unlinks herself from Rey and launches into the man’s arms.

Every time Rose and Hux meet up, they always act as if they’ve been kept apart for centuries. She leaps dramatically into his arms and he kisses her tenderly, as if for the first time in their lives.

Sometimes, Rey thinks it’s sweet and romantic. Sometimes, she wants to poke her eyes out.

Rose said she matched with Hux on a dating app called Tinder after a month-long left swipe spree—options were very limited given how new the app was. Love at first sight, Rose had gushed. She has been bugging Rey to hop on the app and find her true love, given the first-hand success rate. Never mind that Rey only just turned 21 and nowhere near wanting to settle down. She doesn’t even have a stable career yet.

“Well, if you don’t want a boyfriend, then just find someone to hook up with casually,” Rose had said. Rey doesn’t even want to think about the stress of discussing her virgin status with random strangers from an app. Because the thing is, she is neither actively trying to keep it intact nor lose it. It's just... _there_. Still. For 21 years now.

Having sex is simply very low on her list of priorities.

Not even a priority.

She'll get to it when she has time. Perhaps after she's nabbed an upper management job that allows her to work from her newly-bought home with a spacious master bedroom and a Cal King bed. She should be ready for a sexual encounter then.

“Hey, Rey,” Hux greets her once Rose releases his lips. “I brought a friend, if you don’t mind.” He says this to both girls before he gestures behind him. Standing by the entrance with hands in his pockets is a man a couple of inches taller than Hux, which is saying something. He is stubbing out a cigarette butt with the tip of his shoe.

Hux introduces the women to the other man. Ben Solo, coworker. Doesn’t like bars, clubs, and most public spaces. Doesn’t dance. Is owed a beer for agreeing to come out tonight. Rey think he’s a bit funny looking with his big ears and slightly asymmetrical jawline, but he has an intense gaze when he stares off into the distance, at the ground, or at the flashing neon sign above them screaming FACES.

Rose bounces on her heels as they join the queue. “I know this is a gay club, but hear me out—their music is better and their drinks are stronger and there are no creepy men peacocking around the dancefloor."

Ben shrugs and Hux ensures her he doesn’t mind what kind of club she drags him to. Rose had taken Rey to Faces the night she turned 21, and it had been a wild night that she remembers only in flashes—endless shots and cocktails; a group of gorgeous lesbians giving her a lap dance in the R&B room; testing her thigh strength by hovering on the toilet seat after holding her pee for 20 minutes in line; a shirtless old man in a vest and jeans dominating the main dancefloor; and downing a flaming birthday shot while the DJ played 50 Cent’s In Da Club.

They show the bouncer their IDs while Hux pays the cover charge for all four of them. Then they head straight to the bar where Hux buys beer for himself and Ben, and Long Island Iced Teas for the ladies. Rose drags Hux and Rey to dance, and while it was fun for a while, Rey nopes out when Rose starts twerking on Hux.

She makes her way back to the bar where Ben is still nursing his beer while watching the floor. He doesn’t look bored, but he also doesn’t look like he’s having fun. Small talk might be good for him, but a bad idea amidst the blaring music and the crowd chatter around them. So she smiles and leans back against the bar, mimicking him, as she sips on the rest of her cocktail.

Rose and Hux return sweaty and huffing, enthusiastically pointing out a different room with different music that they should check out. The rest of the night passes the same—Rey, Rose, and Hux dance as a trio, until Rey drops out and beelines back to Ben brooding in a corner. Sometimes she and Ben will make a drink run for the group, they toast, move to a different room, and the dancing starts over.

After a few rounds of drinks and nagging, Rose succeeds in dragging Ben with them to the floor. They dance together in an exclusive tight circle, no one really facing anyone in particular. Just swaying and rocking to the beat while making sure their drinks don’t spill.

And it’s not that Ben can’t dance. Rey suspects he took dance cues from the movie Hitch, because he’s doing a fine impression of Will Smith’s tame sway, arms tucked to his side and bent at a 90-degree angle. He still looks disinterested.

“We’re getting more drinks!” Rose screams over the noise as she grabs Rey’s and Ben’s empty glasses. “We’ll be right back! Don’t go anywhere!” She and Hux disappear into the swell of the crowd in the next instant just as a dance remix of a Mariah Carey and Miguel song comes on.

The circle collapses, and suddenly it’s just Rey and Ben. She starts to face him, fully intending to ask if he would like to sit this song out in favor of the nice empty corner by the bar. Back to their companionable silence. But he has a different plan. He steps behind her, so close that she can feel his chest against her back. His hands perch on the swell of her hips as he guides her to move in sync with him.

And he can move.

In the way that Hux does with Rose.

His moves are subtle, not too forward or suggestive, and coordinated in time with the beat that Rey finds herself mouthing the lyrics— _It's beautiful...oh, you make me feel undressable..._

The Hitch dance was a ruse—Ben Solo can grind. Despite how intimate their new position is, however, the lower half of their bodies don’t touch. He keeps her hips swaying from side to side, but also prevents her from backing up too close against his crotch. It’s a little frustrating because Rey wants to feel his entire body against hers, to know what it feels like to be this close to a man.

_You're beautiful...Good lord, you're fucking beautiful..._

A sudden weight on her shoulder startles her, and suddenly she feels something hot and warm against her neck. Ben's hair tickles her check as he breathes against her skin, the hands on her hips grip her tighter when she subtly cranes her neck to the side to give him better access.

He licks her there. It is barely noticeable, a quick dart of his tongue against the side of her neck. But Rey feels it, and she involuntarily shivers at the pleasure of it. He must have noticed her reaction, because he does it again. This time, after a quick lick, his lips latch on to the skin, sucking gently as one of his hands travel to her belly and pulls her to him. Her bum taps against his crotch and—

—what—was that—?

The song changes and Ben's lips unlatch from Rey's neck. He spins her around to face him, and she finds that his gaze has darkened, reflecting a hunger that _must_ match hers. His arms snake around her waist this time, and he pulls her in just as close.

The colorful lights strobe in time with the electronic beat of a Tiësto remix of a Zedd banger. Rey can feel her heart and eardrums thumping along to the bass as the DJ turns the music up and the crowd cheers in response. Ben’s hands are heavy on her hips—she can feel the warmth of them radiating through the thin fabric of her dress as he keeps her in place and rests his forehead against hers. She is slightly disappointed that he leaves her neck alone this time.

Behind Ben, a girl dances sensually with her partner. Rey tries to copy the girl's simple gyrations, eventually settling on a sustainable rhythm that allows her to grind against him in a way that is just slightly risqué. A wordless invitation for him to repeat what he did earlier, because she clearly liked it and wants more.

As more people gather on the floor, Rey is pushed closer to her dancing partner. Ben takes it all in stride, tugging her in when a rambunctious couple bumps into her. Of course, now his face is a mere inch from hers. She can feel his hot breath on her lips, coupled by the jolt of electricity when the tip of his nose nudges hers.

Ben isn’t looking into her eyes. Rather, he is staring at her lips, which is fine because she is also staring at his. The same lips that were on her neck just a few minutes ago, making her feel things she had never felt before.

If she just lifts her chin a little—

She grinds her hip a little too hard against his leg, prompting a low growl and his fingers digging into her hip. One of them must have shifted closer in the last few seconds because now their noses are full-on touching.

She wants to press her palm against her crotch, if only to alleviate the tingling hot pleasure brought on by this intimacy. She needs relief, but she also doesn’t want to move or sever the unspoken connection between them. Because in his arms, she feels secure and centered—the dancers and the music fade into a void of light and sound until there is only Rey and Ben and the scant space between their bodies.

Is this why Rose and Hux love public displays of affection so much? Or just affection in general? Rey could get addicted to this, and she hasn't even kissed him yet. And she knows, somehow, that he can kiss just as sensually as he touches her. It is killing her to not be able to test out her hypothesis.

She doesn’t think he will actually kiss her, so when his plush lips do descend upon hers, right as the music crescendos around them, she gasps in his mouth. He smells like sweat and cigarette smoke, and when she parts her lips to allow his tongue to slip in, she finds that he tastes like beer and minty orange.

This may not be her first kiss, but it is her first proper snog—more than a peck, all lips and tongue and breaths mingling in the space where their mouths converge. His hands have migrated from her waist to the small of her back and the nape of her neck, pulling her flush against him so her breasts press flat against his hard chest.

His nose digs into her cheek as he shifts and slants his mouth across hers in the opposite direction. His kiss is ravenous and wild as he drinks her in, further exciting her at the fact that she can elicit this primal reaction from a man. When his hand at her back moves further south to squeeze her bum, her cunt clenches. The motion rocks her lower body closer against his, and she can now clearly feel a stiff rod prodding her belly.

As suddenly as it began, Ben pulls back. She resists a whimper when his hands leave their station, one slipping into hers so he can pull her towards the exit that leads to the outdoor pool. He is built like a fridge, so he barely needs to do the awkward sidestepping and scooting between people—he just plows through, Rey trailing in the empty space behind him.

The air outside isn’t any fresher. In fact, it smells just as stale due to the smokers congregating around the unoccupied pool, some of them flicking their ash into the water. The area is also not as crowded, and the music is muted, so when Ben pulls Rey in for another kiss, a couple of the smokers hoot in delight. She moves to pull away, embarrassed, but he keeps her in place with a hand on her cheek and a chastising grunt.

The kiss is less frenzied now. He takes his time nibbling her lower lip, doesn’t even try to stick his tongue down her throat, and instead peppers open-mouthed kisses along her jaw before suckling on the tender skin just below her ear. His hands never stray from her waist.

Finally, he places a soft kiss on her cheek, just a few centimeters from the corner of her mouth, and stands back to glance at his watch.

“It’s almost one,” he says.

She groans. “I have to go find Rose. I have to be at work in seven hours."

He nods and takes her hand again. “Let’s go find them then.”

The mystery of why their friends never made it back to the dancefloor is answered—Rose and Hux are knocking back tequila shots with a gay couple at the bar. Hux is a remarkable sight—his face is about as red as his mussed hair, the top half of his shirt is unbuttoned, and there is black lipstick stain on his cheek. Rey notes that one of their drinking buddies is sporting black lips, and his partner also has the same stain on his neck.

Rose excitedly introduces Rey and Ben to her new friends, Kevin and Wayne. Kevin had spotted Hux on the dancefloor earlier and thought he was cute, so he asked if he could give the redhead a kiss. Hux had obliged, and that’s how they all ended up sucking on limes.

Eventually, Rey reminds Rose that they need to get going, so everyone gets Kevin’s lipstick on their cheek before they part ways. When the girls’ Uber approaches, Hux gives Rose a searing goodbye kiss and asks her to text him when she gets home safe. Meanwhile, Rey and Ben shake hands and bid each other goodnight. 

Rose’s head lolls on Rey’s shoulder as soon as their seatbelts are buckled. “I had the best time. Did you?”

Rey thinks of her own good time on the dancefloor and out by the pool. It had been a great night, until the awkward goodbye when Ben didn’t even look at her as he shook her hand like some ordinary acquaintance instead of a girl he had snogged senseless. Her first real kiss and the world continues to turn like it’s no big deal. Still, she replies, “I had a great time. We should do this again.”

“I’m glad you said that, because Kevin and Wayne invited us to their house party this Saturday.” Rose leans back in her seat and yawns. “Did you like Ben, by the way? Sorry we lost you earlier. But I figured you were with him so I wasn’t too worried.”

Rey swallows thickly. “Mhmm, yep, he was nice.”

Rose yawns. “Good, good. I’ll make sure Armie brings him, too.”

Saturday can’t come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♥ You can find me on Twitter @omgreylo ♥
> 
> The Mariah Carey + Miguel song mentioned is "#Beautiful", if you're curious. The Zedd song is "Clarity feat. Foxes".
> 
> [Faces](https://www.faces.net/) is an actual gay club in Sacramento, CA. So is [Kenny the Dancing Man](https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/who-is-kenny-the-dancing-man/323032916).


End file.
